KHUJAND, June 28, 2013, Asia-Plus — Fakhriddin Khudoiberdiyev, the defense lawyer of journalist Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov, says he intends to appeal against the measure of restraint chosen for his client.
Khudoiberdiyev says he is a government-provided lawyer and he renders services free of charge.
“A court in the Asht district issued an arrest warrant for Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov on June 26,” said the lawyer, “I am going to appeal against this decision of the court because Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov has two children and the 73-year-old sister with disabilities to keep.”
Ismoilov is currently being held at the temporary holding facility of the Interior Ministry’s office in Asht, Khudoiberdiyev noted.
Meanwhile, Eraj Amon, the executive secretary of the Dushanbe-based independent weekly
Nigoh
(View), says certain persons threatened Ismoilov three days before he was detained. He further added that it could not be ruled out that Ismoilov had been framed.
We will recall that police detained former regional reporter for the Dushanbe-based independent weekly
Nouri Zindagi
(Light of Life) in Sughd province, Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov, on June 24 following an application by two local women.
Ismoilov’s wife told Asia-Plus on June 26 that a certain woman phoned Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov in the evening of June 24. “He went outside the house and did not return,” said Ismoilov’s wife. “Later, one of Mahmadyusuf relatives said that he was detained by police. I have not seen him since that day. Police do not allow me to meet with him. I do not know what for they detained him.”
Meanwhile, the Tajik Interior Ministry announced on June 26 that Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov was arrested on June 24 and accused of demanding bribes from two residents of the northern province of Sughd.
Criminal proceedings have been instituted against Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov under the provisions of Article 250 (1) of Tajikistan’s Penal Code – extortion; an investigation is under way.
It is not the first time police have detained Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov. We will recall that Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov was arrested in November 2010 on separate counts of defamation, insult, and incitement to hatred over an article titled, “Asht Is Being Destroyed. Who Is Responsible for It?” In the article, published in the August 2010 issue of
Nouri Zindagi
, Ismoilov criticized government and law enforcement officials in the Asht district in the northern Sughd province of Tajikistan, and cited corruption, abuse of office, and mismanagement of funds.
Ismoilov who was facing 16 years imprisonment on charges related to his professional activities was released on October 14, 2011. The Khujand court, however, barred Mahmadyusuf Ismoilov from journalistic work for three years, and ordered him to pay a fine in the amount of 35,000 somoni for causing moral damages.
